Dear IAB Canada Members,

In 2022, IAB Canada reported that industry was an estimated $12.3B strong. With the pandemic almost behind us, many stakeholders began reporting early signs of recovery and even hinting towards a healthy rate of growth. With demand on the rise, continued rumbling on supply chain shortages and an overall increase in advertisers driving competition, we reported on media cost inflation levels in Q1 to help prepare buyers with budget planning for the months ahead. Our reporting indicated a range of 4% for online display to almost 8% for online video. The reality was that 2022 became an expensive year across the board.   

Talent stole the narrative in Q1 with all sectors reporting shortages of skilled candidates while compensation levels soared in the employee market. By Q3 the tables started to turn with major lay-off announcements from industry leaders.  

It was a big year for policy. A new privacy law came into effect in Quebec bringing in tighter constraints for the industry in the areas of consent and general data practices while the industry debated, lobbied, and eventually supported the passing of a federal privacy bill which as of today, still has not ascended. We also kicked off the year with iGaming as a brand-new category of advertisers representing a major revenue boost in the Ontario market which brought into question how to balance the opportunity with a regulated category. 

Meanwhile, IAB Canada was proud to launch a framework that provides the industry with a means to transparently disclose data use for advertising and legally signal compliance for the use of data for programmatic advertising across the supply chain. TCF Canada is the product of two years of international development with the IAB Tech Lab and IAB Europe. While the industry works hard to rearchitect its infrastructure to default to privacy first, it is critical for us to act and show our global efforts towards providing a technology that can bridge the gap between future innovation and the current state of the media ecosystem. 

Corporate social responsibility was on the minds of our members this year. With major investments towards net zero carbon media and further strides in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the industry has been hard at work developing its collective conscience. Our podcasts and reporting on these topics were among the most engaging to our members. That’s something for us all to be proud of. 

Even still, as our community continues to commit to and make monumental strides towards positive societal outcomes like protecting privacy, supporting DEI, and creating a sustainable eco-system, the digital advertising industry is facing an increasing amount of intense scrutiny from detractors. It has never been more important to communicate our collective efforts as a united voice and IAB Canada is committed to developing communications that help allay consumer and regulator concerns and misperceptions as a priority in the new year.  

As we close 2022, it must be said that against the backdrop of market uncertainty, a major talent crisis, new laws and compliance requirements, the IAB Canada community came together to learn, share, support and lead. It was our pleasure to provide timely reporting on issues that mattered. From Barometer reporting on talent and providing critical salary data to participating members to sizing the market and identifying the most exciting opportunities, the team has been in lock-step with members and their rapidly evolving needs. 

On the home front, we were delighted to add new faces to the IAB Canada team this year and both hit the ground running. Talina Van Essen who has cared for member onboarding and operations and Patricia Molina, our Events Manager have made such a positive impact this year. We were also thrilled to end 2022 with our first in-person event that brought us all together for some holiday cheer. If this is a glimpse of the “new normal”, we’ll take it! 

On behalf of the IAB Canada team, we wish you a wonderful holiday season filled with restful peace and moments of true joy. We can’t wait to see you in the new year!